Hyperemesis Support

[LucindaE]

I hope everyone suffering from the Horrors of Hyperemesis will find this thread useful as a source of support and information.
There's no TMI on here - can't be by definition - and nobody should feel ashamed of moaning as much as they feel the need to.
MOH's wonderful website is full of useful information on this illness:
sites.google.com/site/pregnancysicknesssos
Another invaluable website is:
www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk
If you need help in obtaining medication, phone them on:
024 7638 2020
Lastly, the NICE guidelines on treatment are useful:
cks.nice.org.uk/nauseavomiting-in-pregnancy
I would like to thank everyone who has given such invaluable support and advice on this and on previous threads.
Remember when you are at your worst, 'This Too Shall Pass'. It really will.
So many women on this thread have thought they couldn't get through this, but they did.
On my image of a pink castle: that is an image I use because when I was little, my family had a Snakes and Ladders board with an image on the last square of a pink castle in the clouds. As Hyperemesis is so like a grotesque version of Snakes and Ladders - eat a meal, go up a ladder, first thing in the morning bile run, down a snake - I have used the image of that pink castle on the last square of that Snakes and Ladders board as a metaphor for the happy end of Hyperemesis.

Thanks to everyone for all of the congratulations ❤️ Enjoying every minute of the newborn snuggles and bonding.

Forgot to say in my last message what an incredible support this thread has been - when no one else in the outside world understood and when I physically couldn’t get out and about and spent days without talking to anyone as I had lost my voice from so much puking - you lovely ladies on this thread have always been so supportive and understanding and it helped immensely to know I wasn’t alone. Especially to mother hen Lucinda for keeping it going and being not only great moral support but also your expert advice on meds etc - I am so so appreciative ❤️

@silversplodge I wouldn't start worrying about afterwards. My lo is 5 months old now and I managed to stop taking my meds about 24 weeks pregnant as I was taking it easy. It doesn't take that long to build up your stamina surprisingly. You're going to be tired dealing with. Newborn anyway.
I was just wondering if there are any mums here pregnant with another baby after having HG with their first? I really don't know when to start trying for number 2 I've said to my husband at least wait until my current baby is 2 but then there will be a 3 year gap and I'm not sure if I want that... so what gaps have people left and how did you find it?

Rockin I waited 7 years but that was because I was too scared to go through it again rather than planning that gap. However, so far it’s been a blessing having dd a bit older as she’s at school during the week and she’s old enough to understand when I can’t do stuff with her and can play on her own when needed. I don’t know how I could do this with a preschooler and the attention they demand but there are lots who do so it’s pefectly possible. It’s a good gap in that she’s old enough to help me with the baby to make things easier but it is daunting going back to the baby and toddler phase having got it done and dusted years ago. I also imagine there will be challenges as they will both be into very different things at different times, but I had a 10 year gap between my sister and I and I loved the big gap.

Iron; I had slightly low iron towards the end of my last pregnancy. Had tablets, think i took them as and when I could.

rockin I'm pregnant with second, had hyperemesis with first. Son will be 3yrs 8months when bambino arrives. We decided to try again and caught first time - we didn't expect that as took 2years with son. So I expected son to be older. It took us 6 months to make the decision to try again. And we did prep - I put weight on went to to GP to get prescription for cyclizine to take as soon as knew I was pregnant, and had a referral to a consultant to plan. In the event I was 7 weeks pregnant at that apt...! There's no way I could have done this with son any younger. And I wish he was a little older, to be honest. But he's been amazing with it all. Family help and putting him into nursery was essential, and i simply wouldn't have coped without both of those things. You probably don't want to hear that this pregnancy has been much, much worse in terms of hyperemesis. What worked last time (ondansetron) didn't work this time. That's that guaranteed for everyone, but you should be aware that it could be worse.

@RockinRobinn I will have a 4y 4m age gap when this baby arrives in September. It wasn't planned that way as I've had a couple of bumps in the road but it's turned out well, she's a good age to understand that I'm not well and is often rubbing my back or sending messages to daddy to make me some nesquik 😀
I do feel terrible guilt though, as she's very sad when I don't go places with her.
I'm on cyclizine x3 day which is different from last time and seems to suit me better, I have been less physically sick and have given in and taken time off work. Rest seems to be crucial, I seem to pay for it if I try to do much. I'd go with when you feel ready. It definitely took me at least 3 years to even consider it xx

Rockin not quite the same as what you asked but just to add to the perspectives. I’m pg with DC3 but this is the first time I’ve had this level of sickness and nausea, I worked through pregnancy with DC1 and DC2 but I’m now entering my 4th week off work this time around. There is a 2 year gap between DC1 and DC2, whereas there will be nearly 5 years between DC2 and DC3.

First things first, I didn’t enjoy pregnancy with DC1 and DC2 either. But obviously I didn’t have severe sickness, I had moderate nausea and sickness that I found irritating but which went somewhere around 12-14 weeks in both cases. Being pregnant with a toddler will vary depending on other circumstances, just like the first time you’re pregnant. So for instance I had to go to work as I’m the ‘breadwinner’ in our household, which was tiring, but on the other hand DH is a SAHP so when I was drained it didn’t matter too much as he was there with DC1. So when it comes to pregnancy and managing other children, such as when you have HG, as with the first time around it comes down to the support you have.

In terms of life, I found two little ones both lovely but intense and I wasn’t the SAHP! I’ll admit, on occasion I’d sit on the kitchen floor for a few minutes with a cup of tea to have a break because we had a gate in the doorway and they couldn’t see me immediately if I was sat down... I still preferred it to pregnancy however!

Now they’re older, they’re fantastic. They’re little buddies, take care of each other and play together even though they have the odd disagreement.

However I do not currently have plans to add a DC4 into the mix! I am really looking forward to my current DCs being the older siblings to my DC3, and just having some time (relatively speaking) with DC3. Having this awful sickness and nausea this time around has also put me off jumping into another pregnancy quickly, or at all, but it’s easier for me to say that as I’m now on number 3. If this was number 1 I’d feel much more conflicted.

Also I do feel a bit guilty at the moment that I’m doing very little with DC1 and DC2, and incredibly little generally around the house and being off work, but again fortunately as DH is a SAHP the DCs are still very well looked after and entertained! I’m just feeling the guilt and uselessness.

By the way thank you to @eallison88 and @LucindaE for your v wise words, today has not been good! Got up and quietly played with DD and did a bit more than usual. Now in bed feeling rubbish and exhausted! No way I can cope with work yet. Hope everyone else has had a good Sunday x

Olivecake Thank you for your lovely message. You were always very supportive to others on this thread. Here's some and a . So glad you are enjoying baby.
norbert Sorry to hear today was not good. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
RockinRobin Lovely to hear from you again. Those who have gone for it again, Reastie, eallison norbert beforeihit30, have given great advice about their experiences with various age gaps. As I didn't, I can't, but the best of luck. From what I have seen on these threads, though, having a plan of how to cope, with pre-emptive meds, a care plan, etc, is all important.
Waves to SeaEagleFeather and everyone.

Thanks ladies definitely think we will be waiting until she's at least two till we start trying then maybe a bit longer if she's very demanding 😂
Lovely to hear about your experiences I am just dreading starting from scratch after so long with a new born as I'm hoping Evelyn might sleep more by then although that may be wishful thinking!
Hang on in their ladies once you've met your little one and can enjoy eating again it makes all the difference. You're all doing so well sending lots of love and strength!

I hoped yesterday when I threw up that it was coincidence, today I think it's fair to say sickness is here at the late stage of 4 weeks 2 days going to try and get a gp appointment tomorrow morning, wish me luck. Please let the drugs work, I underestimated how tricky this might be with a barely toddler.

elkie please don't leave the GPs without a prescription. You have a right to medication, and a need for it. This is going to be difficult with a toddler, but you can totally do this. What help can you help yourself lined up now? Any family who can take your daughter one day a week, or a few hours a day a couple of times a week? Or friends? Are you able to put her into nursery? That's what we did with my son, put him in nursery one day a week, and family took him my other day off (he was alreadywith family on the 3 days I work).

Eallison my son is in nursery a few days a week so that's good and then me and OH both work part time to juggle the rest. No family super close and also feels too early to tell them anyway! I won't leave without medication and hopefully I will try and get a follow up appt in case they don't work (so hard to get an appt, will have to ring tomorrow morning (morning off work) and hope they have one). Thanks for listening.

Bit late beforeIhit but Maybe this sounds silly, but I didn’t want to write about how I was feeling? ... totally get it. Thread's here to dip into and out of as you like.
silverspolodge the HG does take it out of you, there's no doubt, but actually like reastie what I found was that it was such a relief for it to be gone that you feel great. I didn't have to have a C-section and was bounding around like a spring lamb - and at the time I had ME for some years! You do have to be careful not to overdo it specially as you will have a tiny sleep thief, but honestly the disappearance of the endless nausea and not-rightness is really quite invigorating.

norbert sorry to hear you've had a step back :( hold on ...

Cant understand the variation in knowledge re drugs for sickness. Are they all that fucking stupid?? What I'd love to know is - where on earth is the training ?! Don't doctors get ongoing training?!

jamjar hope you find a solution to the iron problem ... nasal spray sounds good
Elkie welcome and congrats. As everyone says, definitely ask for the cyclizine and start it early. Good luck with the doctor!!
olive I hope Little Olivecake is settling in well :) YES to thanking Lucinda and everyone else for this thread. It was a lifeline for me too, especially as I live abroad.
rockin like Reastie we have a big gap, 6 years, and it kinda helped a bit as Small Eagle was not at the super-demanding 3 year old stage. We still hadd to rope the in laws in for help a lot though and put him in daycare for the rest :( Once he was born though, the gap actually worked well in that they aren't in quite so much competition for resources and the older is a bit more secure in his place without the younger nipping at his heels, although Tiny Eagle is clearly planning to take over the world ...

Wishing everyone as peaceful a day as possible, with much rest ...

Thanks SeaEagle

Feeling worse today... am 10 weeks on Wednesday and I remember this being a sort of peak time so really hoping for some decline after this week! I have had a couple of better mornings so hoping that’s a good indicator.

So I feel like an absolute monster, my mil has been causing drama telling people before the scan and asking when we are telling people and when I said not right now I got why not I thought you'd be so excited. (I ranted on another thread about her)
But it made me realise I don't want to tell people because I'm not excited I don't want people touching me and being all happy around me about the baby.
And last night I finally admitted to dh that there's times I wish it hadn't happened and that when we went for the 12 week scan I honestly didn't care what the outcome was which I know is awful.
I spoke to my doctor and she thinks the hyperemis is making me depressed along with the stress of my job and money and everything. I turned down medication because I can't deal with the constant judgement of my anti sickness pills so i don't want to add to the pile.
It felt so good to admit I really don't care about the baby right now, but it's weird cause it's cool to see it on a scan but it's like it's not me it's someone else.
I'm getting referred to a specialist consultant on hyperemis because of how down I am.
Has anyone else felt this way?
Sorry to be such an eeyore on a Monday morning!

avacadooo you are absolutely not a monster. We're taught that we should be overcome with joy and sometimes it just ain't so.
It's incredibly difficult to feel happy when you are physically at maybe the lowest point of your life, relentlessly ill and all the fun and joy has been sucked out of you into the bottom of the sickbucket.

A consultant is a great idea. The mental side of HG is even more overlooked than the physical issues.

Your MIL needs a boot up the arse. What a very stupid thing for her to do. You know not to tell her anything in future!

Avacadoo what you say sounds very familiar for me for my last pg but I didn’t at the time acknowledge how I felt and it was only looking back afterwards did I realise how much it mentally wrecked me, so well done for realising early on. This time I e been very proactive in knowing I need to make sure I am more proactive that I need help. I think given how awful we feel it must be much more common to struggle with mental aspects. With dd I didn’t really accept until she was in my arms I actually had a baby in my tummy, I was completely detached and people telling me it would be worth it in the end didn’t help me at all as I kind of was in denial about the whole thing as all I could mentally cope with was getting through pg and the nausea.

Yesterday was a bad day and I had 5-6 BMs during the day. Once that was all done I felt much better. Today I’ve had 3 big BMs in the morning and so far much better day so far, I’ve even managed to clean the sitting room a bit. I really think the BM thing is now the main cause of my issues.

Beforeihit hopefully a little bit longer and things will start getting better.

Urgh Elkie poor you, mind started very early too. Hope you get a useful gp apt tomorrow. I’d recommend ringing pregnancy sickness support today so you know exactly what you should be offered and what to do if you aren’t (I believe they told me I could be referred to an obstetrician if they refused and this was a right that wasn’t optional for them to do).

Meant to add avacadoo I had similar mil issues. We told her only because we had to because of how ill I was early on. We asked her not to tell anyone but she told her friends and then would send me smug emails telling me exactly who she told. Dh then specifically asked her not to tell family and she went and told family members too because she ‘forgot’. I was really annoyed. She’s going to be a nightmare once this baby is born too, I need to work out how best to tackle it.

elkie apologies, son not daughter! We told family at 5 weeks, knowing full well we'd need them. Made me sad that yet again we didn't get to have a lovely reveal, but needs must. I understand not wanting to tell people yet tho.

I had a really productive apt with my consultant this morning. She was impressed I'd successfully dropped my steroids from 45 to 40mg, and encouraged me to carry on weaning as I can, but left it up to me. She suggested the GTT (sugary drink and fasting to test for gestational diabetes), but when hubby and I explained we didn't think it wise she accepted it and said we'd do it by monitoring sugar levels. So then I had a chat with the diabetes midwife. She talked me thru testing etc. She also yold me that if i do hace gestational diabetes then she doesn't intend to use the metaform (or whatever it's called) as it's likely to cause nausea and I don't need that on top of everything. She's hopeful we can manage with diet, and if not insulin has no side effects and doesn't cause nausea so we'll use that.

Also, I was thinking... if the steroids mean risk of baby being small, and diabetes means risk of baby being big.... surely they cancel each other out and I'm gonna get a bang on average size bubba?!

Just adding my penny’s worth to queries re: how the heck can you go through this again, and worries about pre-emptive meds...
Firstly let’s be clear I’m on the mild end of the hyperemesis spectrum.
I was undiagnosed with it with my first and i ploughed through torture because everybody around me told me I had to get on with it. Mercifully I felt a lot better and stronger after the first trimester even through the vomiting continued into the third.
We went for another after a year and a bit after because so many people told us ‘every pregnancy is different.’ After losing weight and having significant ketosis by 7 weeks I got hospital treatments and meds to take home. I knew what I had by then, but it took ages to get a handle on it. I’ve never felt anything like it.. where even tv or my phone pushed the torture into an even more unbearable intensity, or the idea of the window open or sitting up in bed was unfathomable. Again, it started to ease by the end of the first trimester Altho vomiting continued into the third.
If we hadn’t read about the advice to take medicines preemptively we would never have had another. We have a 4.5 yo and a 2.5 yo, neither of whom have nursery etc. I have nowhere I need to be as I’m a stay at home mum, and I have friends that take the kids to groups if Im not up to it. As it is I have had no weight loss or meaningful dehydration on just cyclizine 3x a day and natural remedies such as eating little and often, resting, getting help as much as possible. I’m 16 1/2 weeks and no signs of relief yet...considering the increasing intensity of my hyperemesis each time I’m sure I would have been hospitalised without them this time round.
Unless we had a live in nanny, I don’t think I’ll be doing this again! But I’m hugely thankful for these three. Even if they each tried to kill me 🤣

Just echoing what others have said @avacadoo, I really didn't talk about or feel bonded with my baby throughout the pregnancy, maybe a little by 8 months but certainly not like how you see it in magazines and tv. I remember my partner wanting to tell my family at a birthday meal (where I picked at a bit of potato) and hissing at him that I didn't want to even talk about it. I couldn't bear thinking about it as I felt so dreadful. This time I think it's different but mainly because I'm resting so I don't feel half as bad as before but I'm certainly no glowing meghan! (No hard feelings about her by the way, she just always looks amazing!)
Today I'm shattered, but I've had a sandwich, 2 pints of nesquik and a bath which at least means I'm not a greasy mess.

Just had a really frustrating 2 hours at work. It's left me feeling very deflated. And also exhausted. I had to supervise the rearranging of a room, and couldn't just stand there and boss people, so I moved a couple of posters and candles. Unfortunately, that has completely worn me out and I feel a bit queasy. But that's not what has deflated me. My line manager asked me when my sick note ran out. I explained that tho it running today, it will be extended on the same terms (2 hours a day, working 3 days). She didn't say so, but it was clear that she wasn't happy. She keeps giving me things to do, and having gone hone really stressed about getting everything done last week Thursday (last working day) I decidecthat enough was enough. I told her that I'd add turned jobs to the list, but told her what was ahead of it on the list and that I didn't think I'd get to it til after half term. Again, she clearly wasn't happy and said "well, we won't do that then". Obviously by we she meant me. But I'm not gonna allow myself to go home in the stressed state I did last week. It doesn't help and it makes me ill. I suspect they thought I'd be doing more than 2 hours by now. In reality I can't see me doing more than 2 hours for quite some time. Ho hum.

Hi,

After some reassurance after having to fight for a repeat prescription of my ondansetron.

It was a different Dr to the one who prescribed it and she said she didn't understand how I had run out twice already and I need to tell my consultant (I'm consultant led) when I see them that I've taken so much as 8mg 3 times a day is a lot to take in pregnancy and it's worried her.

Now I feel terrible for taking the highest dose. But even the 8mg doesn't work on my nausea.

I'm right in thinking you ladies are also taking this high dose of ondansetron arent you?????? And for extended periods?

Sorry to X post people. I'm so worried now.

meg6840 in pregnancy #1 I took 3 x 8mg/ondansetron daily for pretty much my entire pregnancy (started taking it at week 7, stopped at week 41 when Son finally arrived. Didn't take 3x8mg that whole time, but certainly for the vast majority of it. Pregnancy #2, this one, started on ondansetron at about 4 weeks, straight onto 3 x 8mg. That dose hasn't changed, I'm now about 5 months and I'm taking that alongside cyclizine and steroids (and ranitidine and omeprazole). I expect to be on ondansetron and cyclizine for the duration of pregnancy, and am hoping to be at the very least on lower dose steroids by the end. Many, many women take 8mg x 3 daily for extended periods in pregnancy.